Fiessinger named region player of the year, three Eagles haul in honors
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Abby Fiessinger (Benton, Ky.) was named the D2CCA Southeast Region Player of the Year to headline a busy day on the awards front for Carson-Newman softball.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Abby Fiessinger (Benton, Ky.) was named the D2CCA Southeast Region Player of the Year to headline a busy day on the awards front for Carson-Newman softball.
The Division II Conference Commissioners' Association and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association both released their all-region teams Thursday afternoon, while CoSIDA presented the Google Cloud Academic All-District team.
Fiessinger was represented on all three. The Eagles' outfielder was tabbed with region player of the year honors from the D2CCA, first-team all-region honors from the D2CCA and NFCA, and Google Cloud Academic All-District Honors from CoSIDA.
Senior pitcher Allison Rager (Elkview, W.Va.) picked up all-region honors from both the D2CCA and NFCA. She made the first team for D2CCA and second team for NFCA as a pitcher.
Finally, Lacie Rinus (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) picked up second team all-region honors from the NFCA. Rinus and Fiessinger both earned all-region honors for a third straight year. The academic all-district honors are the first for Fiessinger in her career.
Fiessinger has been a hitting machine for Carson-Newman. The junior finished the year as the SAC's regular season batting champion with a .442 average and currently sits at .435. At present standing, her batting average would be the 10th-highest single season total in program history.
She is also slugging .841.
If the season were to end today, she would be the fourth Eagle all-time to slug better than .800 for a year and finish with the second-highest slugging percentage in program history to Brittany Hefner and her legendary 2013 season.
Fiessinger has racked up 15 multi-hit efforts. She has a septet of three-hit days. The junior drove in five runs in a win over Tusculum, the second most in her career and tied for the 10th most for a single-game in program history.
The Benton, Ky.-native has six-multi-RBI days and is the team leader with nine home runs.
Fiesssinger saw a 15-game hitting streak, the sixth longest in program history, come to an end in the first game of the Southeast Regionals.
The junior hasn't gone back-to-back games this year without a hit. Her batting average hasn't dipped below .404 on the year. With 16 doubles, Fiessinger ranks 10th in the nation in two-baggers.
In her lone season with the Eagles, Rager shined in the circle. The Morehead State transfer had the third lowest ERA in the South Atlantic Conference at 1.95. She finished the year fourth in the league in batting average against (.218) and led the league in shutouts (six). Her 119 strikeouts were ninth in the conference.
Rager had three standout games on the year. She earned South Atlantic Conference Pitcher of the Week honors after collecting three wins against Lenoir-Rhyne and Tusculum. Her start against Lenoir-Rhyne featured a 13-strikeout performance. That total was good for a career high and the fourth-most in Carson-Newman history.
In her final regular season home game, Rager again dazzled. She twirled a no-hitter against regionally-ranked Newberry to help clinch Carson-Newman a second-place finish in the SAC standings. She followed that up with a no-hitter against Anderson in the Southeast Regional. She is the first Eagle since 2001 and Carson-Newman and SAC Hall of Famer Marci Mitchell Whiteside with multiple no-hitters in one season.
Rager only allowed four base runners in the game against Newberry, and two against Anderson. She also had a double-digit strikeout performance (11) against North Greenville. At the plate, Rager fell in love with the long ball. The Elkview, W.Va. native homered seven times and drove in 27 runs.
Rinus ranked second on the team with her .379 batting average. She roped nine doubles, hit four triples and drilled five home runs en route to driving in 28 on the year.
The junior split time equally between centerfield and the circle. As a pitcher she tallied an 11-3 record with a 3.10 ERA. She has 62 strikeouts against 24 walks on the year and has gone a complete game 10 times. She fanned a season-high eight in a home contest with Coker. Regardless of position, she has played error-free softball this year.
Rinus has picked up 16 multi-hit efforts and eight multi-RBI efforts on the year. She matched a career high with a four-hit day in the SAC title game against Anderson.
